The recipients of a grant from the Spring 2024 call were:
Adugna Negussie
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Health, Arsi University, Asela, Ethiopia
“I am incredibly grateful to the ISSCD for this M-in-M grant. Under Iris Jonkers at the University of Gröningen, the M-in-M programme award provides tremendous opportunity for me to advance my professional development and expand my knowledge of celiac disease, to date, gained from Lund University during my PhD study. The grant also helps in strengthening my connections with subject matter specialists from a global organisation which will inspire my future grant applications to address celiac disease concerns in Ethiopia”
Mentor
- Iris Jonkers, Department of Genetics, UMCG, Gröningen, The Netherlands
Martina Sciberras
Gastroenterology Division, Mater Dei Hospital, Malta
” Thanks to the M-in-M programme offered by the ISSCD, I am thrilled to work with Prof. Elena Verdu at McMaster University, Canada, one of the world leaders in celiac disease research. This opportunity is invaluable for a young researcher like me, as it allows me to enrich my knowledge, learn new skills, and contribute to groundbreaking research. My work will focus on the faecal microbiome characteristics in newly diagnosed celiac disease patients, both at diagnosis and after one year on a gluten free diet. I am deeply grateful to the ISSCD for this exceptional opportunity”
Mentor
- Elena Verdu, McMaster University, Canada
Francesca Manz
University of Ferrara and Private Hospital Salus, Ferrara, Italy
“I am grateful to the ISSCD for this opportunity. The M-in-M programme award is a fundamental incentive to stimulate the research on celiac disease. In the context of my PhD, this exchange will be a thriving occasion to enrich my knowledge in the field, especially focusing on the new frontiers of diagnosis and therapy of celiac disease. I am sure that this will be a core experience in my career and the support of Professor David Sanders will be pivotal.”
Mentor
- David Sanders, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, UK
Pedro Miranda
Farncombe Institute Nutrition Initiative (FINI), McMaster University, Canada
“I want to express my gratitude to ISSCD and Takeda for this award. I am truly honoured to have Prof Jason Tye-Din and Dr Robert Anderson as my mentors. Prof Tye-Din and Dr Anderson’s pioneering work in immunological responses and innovative diagnostic methods for celiac disease has significantly shaped my approach and vision in this field. I will take this opportunity to learn from them and implement novel, non-invasive celiac disease diagnostic assays at our facilities at McMaster University, enhancing our ability to address critical questions about gluten driven immune events and symptoms. Moreover, this program will strengthen our collaborations, allowing us to combine our efforts to ultimately advance the field of celiac disease research and treatment.
Mentors
- Jason Tye-Din, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne, Australia
- Bob Anderson , Mackay Base Hospital, Queensland, Australia
Elin M Hård af Segerad
Pediatric Research Institute, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
” I am very grateful for the opportunity to take part in the M-in-M programme. With the mentoring of Drs Edwin Liu, Pooja Mehta and Monique Germone at the Colorado Center for Celiac Disease, I aim to further expand my knowledge in the nutritional management and dietary adherence in pediatric celiac disease and to advance the evidence based clinical care in this area. The M-in-M programme provides an opportunity for me to explore factors influencing the adherence to the gluten free diet in pediatric celiac disease in an American and Swedish setting, and to compare the nutritional education, management and assessment of adherence. As an early career researcher in celiac disease, the programme provides an invaluable opportunity for me to advance my research skills and collaborate with well renowned and experienced researchers.”
Mentors
- Edwin Liu, Colorado Center for Celiac Disease, Digestive Health Institute, Children’s Hospital, Colorado, USA
- Pooja Mehta, Colorado Center for Celiac Disease, Digestive Health Institute, Children’s Hospital Colorado, USA
- Monique Germone, Colorado Center for Celiac Disease, Digestive Health Institute, Children’s Hospital Colorado, USA
Michela Palo
University of Padua, Italy
“I am truly honored to have received this award, sponsored by ISSCD. The M-in-M program offers an incredible chance to foster global partnerships within the celiac disease community, with the aim of ensuring the highest standards of research. I am grateful for the opportunity to join the M-in-M program, which will allow me to expand my knowledge and experience in celiac disease and its related complications, with the guidance and support of my mentors. I am thrilled about this opportunity.”
Mentors
- Georgia Malamut, AP-HP, Centre University of Paris, Hospital Cochin, Paris, France.
- Anais Levescot, Institut Imagine, Paris, France
- Nadine Cerf-Bensussan, Institut Imagine, Paris, France
Peter Prendergast
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
“I am deeply grateful to receive this award. I can’t wait to start my mentorship and I am excited to continue developing as a celiac disease researcher, with the goal of producing meaningful and translational research. The ISSCD grant represents an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with international experts and advance my education and research in the field of celiac disease. This grant will enable me to develop my expertise with the aim of producing translational research on celiac disease, with results that could have a lasting impact. Once again thank you for this opportunity.”
Mentor
- Elena Verdu, McMaster University, Canada
Laura Kivela
Celiac Disease Research Center, Tampere University and Tampere University Hospital, Finland
“I’m really happy and honored to receive the ISSCD M-in-M grant. I will use the funding to travel to the Colorado and Boston Celiac Disease Centers and to develop collaboration with professor Edwin Liu and Jocelyn Silvester. The opportunity to learn from these mentors and their teams will be highly beneficial for my development as a researcher. Specific research topics to focus on during the visits include mass screening for celiac disease and gluten challenge studies in children, areas in which their centers have unique experience. Thank you, ISSCD, for this opportunity!”
Mentors
- Edwin Liu, Colorado Center for Celiac Disease, Digestive Health Institute, Children’s Hospital Colorado, USA
- Jocelyn Silvester, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Boston Children’s Hospital, USA